Amy E. Heberle, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
Clark University
Worcester, MA 01610-1477
Phone: 508.793.7210
Email: aheberle@clarku.edu
Dr. Heberle received an A.B. from Harvard University in 2009 and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Boston in 2017. She completed her clinical internship at Yale University and her postdoctoral training at Boston College. She has been at Clark since 2018.
Current Research
Dr. Heberle’s primary area of research focuses on the mental health functioning of pre-adolescent children (primarily in the pre-school to early school age range) who are marginalized based on their economic, socioeconomic, or class status. She is interested in how children think about their own social class and in how children's expectations for themselves are impacted by growing up in poverty, particularly in societies like the U.S. that have high levels of economic inequality. Dr. Heberle also studies the intersection of class and race, ethnicity, and immigration status. She is interested in how children thrive despite marginalizing socioeconomic experiences, which has led her to study early education programs like early head start, school-based student support programs like City Connects, and sociopolitical constructs like critical consciousness. In addition, Dr. Heberle maintains a strong interest in infant-toddler mental health, including assessment and treatment of infant-toddler mental health challenges, particularly in marginalized contexts. She uses a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods in her research.
Recent Publications
Lee-St. John, T., Walsh, M.E., Raczek, A.E., Vuilleumier, C.E., Foley, C, Heberle, A.E., Sibley, E. & Dearing, E. The Long-Term Impact of Systemic Student Support in Elementary School: Reducing High School Dropout. AERA Open (in press).
Heberle, A. E., Kaplan-Levy, S.A., Neuspiel, J., Carter, A. S. (2018). Young Children's Reasoning About the Effects of Poverty on People Experiencing it: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 86.
Mian, N. M., Godoy, L., Eisenhower, A.S., Heberle, A.E., Carter, A.S. (2016) Prevention Services for Externalizing and Anxiety Symptoms in Low-Income Children: the Role of Parent Preferences in Early Childhood. Prevention Science, 17 (1). doi: 10.1007/s11121-015-0601-8.
Heberle, A. E. & Carter, A.S. (2015) Cognitive Aspects of Young Children's Experience of Economic Disadvantage. Psychological Bulletin, 141 (4).
Heberle, A. E., Thomas, Y.T., Wagmiller, R. L., Briggs-Gowan, M. J., & Carter, A. S. (2014). The Impact of Neighborhood, Family, and Individual Risk Factors on Toddlers’ Disruptive Behavior. Child Development, 85 (5). doi: 10.1111/cdev.12251.
Heberle, A. E., Krill, Sarah K, Briggs-Gowan, M. J., & Carter, A. S. (2014). Predicting Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior in Kindergarten: Examining the Buffering Role of Early Social Support. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 44 (4). doi: 10.1080/15374416.2014.886254